The Utah Jazz have every reason to be optimistic for what's to come next season. However, they also have to be realistic about the entire roster when thinking about their offseason plans. In case fans didn't know, this is on their to-do list.
-Re-sign Walker Kessler
-Re-sign Jusuf Nurkic
-Extend Keyonte George
And there's no telling who else they may go after, but we must keep in mind that if they succeed with all of these goals, their frontcourt rotation will consist of Kessler, Nurkic, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and you might throw Ace Bailey into the mix.
Jazz fans have every reason to be excited for what that group could do, but there's only so many minutes to go around, and with that much talent in the frontcourt, it leaves an odd man out: Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski hasn't taken the leap many believed he could have, but he hasn't been bad this season. 10.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 33.3% from three are solid sophomore numbers, especially for someone who was a second-round pick.
That doesn't even tell the whole story. Despite not exactly evolving all that much, Filipowski was a key ingredient on the Jazz's outlandish (but wildly successful) trio of him, Lauri Markkanen, and Walker Kessler.
If/when Kessler comes back, it may not seem wise to part ways with such a frisky lineup, but JJJ will take Filipowski's minutes. That's why it's really difficult to see where Filipowski fits in all of this. Utah still has two more years to figure out what to do while Filipowski is on his rookie contract, but there's a fair case to be made that it might be in their best interest to address this logjam sooner rather than later before his value craters.
If the Jazz trade Filipowski, how would they do it?
Filipowski's value is still solid. He still is a rotation big who does a lot of good things on the floor. He'll only be on the outside looking in because the Jazz will simply be too crowded for him to play. If a trade is in store, will Utah trade him for assets, or will he be included in a deal for either an upgrade or someone who fills a hole?
The Jazz will have an overabundance of pure scorers on their roster next season, so it's possible they may try to dangle Filipowski for more of a defense-oriented player who won't interfere with the rotation or continuity.
Jazz fans may hate the notion of trading Filipowski with how much bang for the buck he's given in his first two seasons in Utah, but the Jazz can't ignore that this could be a problem, and taking care of it ASAP might be the best option.